Lament
by Izzy4
Summary: In the aftermath of Gandalf's death, Frodo and Aragorn talk. No slash, just friendship.


LAMENT

By Izzy

Disclaimer:                    I do not own any of the characters or locations in this story and I make no money from writing fiction about them.

Author's Notes:            It's a missing scene type of fic.  There is nothing here that is utterly foreign to the book, but it was the movie I had in mind when I wrote it.   I must admit to being a bit confused as to whether Aragorn actually has Andúril when he leaves Rivendell in the movie but for the purposes of this story The Sword that was Broken has been reforged and Aragorn has it with him. 

LAMENT

Frodo Baggins turned his head to the side and looked at his companions.  Sam lay at his feet and to either side of him Merry and Pippin.  All were sleeping soundly.  A few feet away, Gimli the dwarf lay on his back, snoring softly.  

He envied them.

Since they had arrived in Lothlórien and told the Lady of the Wood that Gandalf was gone, a lament had filled the air.  Voices so sad, singing in a language he did not understand, but Frodo felt their meaning.  Combined with his own grief at his friend's passing he knew that sleep would not come to him that night.

He was not the only member of the Fellowship not to have found peaceful slumber.  Legolas had disappeared to speak to his kinsmen as soon as their audience with Galadriel was over and they had not seen him since.  Boromir was also missing, but his absence did not bother Frodo unduly.  He had begun to feel uncomfortable around the Man recently, although he could not say why.  And the third was Aragorn.  It was with the thought of finding the Ranger that Frodo carefully got to his feet and, stepping over his sleeping friends, made his way to the front of the simple shelter that the Elves had erected for them.    

The voices above him seemed to swell as he came outside, but looking up he could not see the choir, just the cool light that filtered through the leaves from the dwellings above.   The forest floor appeared to be deserted at first glance, but as he stood wondering which way he should go, Frodo spotted a figure with its back towards him, hunkered down close to one of the trees.  Even under the dim lights of Caras Galadhon, he saw at once that it was Aragorn.

As he drew closer, he saw that the man was running a cloth carefully up and down the blade of his sword.

"Why aren't you asleep, Frodo?"  Aragorn asked without turning around.  The Ranger's voice had an edge to it that Frodo couldn't quite identify.

"I cannot."  He replied sadly.

"You would do well to rest while you can."

Instead of retreating, Frodo drew closer still until he stood by Aragorn's shoulder.  "Do you understand them?  The voices, I mean."

The Ranger's hands stopped their work for a split second before resuming. "Yes, I understand them."  

"Will…will you tell me what they are saying?  Legolas said that he could not.  That his grief was too near."

"So it is, I think, with all of us."  Aragorn looked at him for the first time since their conversation had begun, his expression unreadable, before turning his attention once more to his sword.  Many minutes passed before he spoke again, and when he did, Frodo had to strain to hear him, for he seemed to speaking almost to himself.  "They are saying what we are feeling in our hearts.  They say that Gandalf the Grey is gone and there will be none like him again.  They say that all our futures are bleaker as a result of his passing."

Frodo dropped his head forward, squeezing his eyes shut.  "I didn't know…"

Aragorn sighed softly.  "The language is very old, few remember it."

"No."  Frodo said miserably, lifting his head.  His eyes were suddenly filled with tears. "I didn't know what was in the mines.  If I hadn't chosen that path then we would never have met the Balrog and..."

"And instead we might have frozen, buried up to our necks in snow on Caradhras.  Or fallen prey to Saruman on our way to the Gap of Rohan.  All routes were fraught with danger, my friend."  Aragorn reached up and placed a comforting hand on Frodo's shoulder.  " Your choice was as good as any other.  I would not have chosen differently."

"But…" Frodo wiped at his wet cheeks miserably. " …if it hadn't been for me and Sam and Merry and Pippin we wouldn't have had to turn back at all…"

"No, Frodo."  Aragorn said gently.  "I do not think that any of us could have survived that mountain."  He removed his hand from Frodo's shoulder and placed it back on his sword.  "You are no more to blame for Gandalf's death than I am – for I agreed to go to that dreadful place although I had some knowledge of what lurked there and why he feared it."

Curiosity got the better of grief for a moment. "Were you in Moria with Gandalf before?"

Aragorn shook his head slowly, concentrating once more on cleaning Andúril although it shone and no blemish marked the blade. "No.  Our paths led us there on separate occasions."  He said simply and Frodo sensed that he wanted to leave it at that. 

They both lapsed into silence while the voices above them continued their sad song.  With no other sound to compete with it, the lament seemed to become nearly tangible.  It filled the air around them so densely that Frodo could almost taste the melody - like he was breathing it in.  He felt that he might choke on it.  "Why don't they stop?"  He cried when he could bear it no longer. 

"They will keep singing until the sun rises as is customary for them.  It is their way of grieving.  Gandalf was well known in these parts and they will miss him."

"_I_ miss him."  The Hobbit whispered sadly.

"As do I, Frodo.  Gandalf was my dear friend and we shared many adventures together.  His loss is hard to bear.  But in the days to come, we must put our grief aside and finish what we began with him, for we cannot afford to fail."  Aragorn's heart ached, as he watched fear and uncertainty mix with grief on his young friend's face.

Frodo nodded, looking at the ground.  "I know."  He said softly. 

"Frodo!"

The Hobbit looked up to find Aragorn had shifted so that his face was close, level with his own.  

"We _will_ find a way."  The Ranger said firmly, his grey eyes holding Frodo's gaze.  "We will ensure that he did not die in vain…I _will_ not allow him to have died in vain."  He added softly.  " We have some hard decisions to make regarding the road ahead, Frodo Baggins, but we need not make them now.  Now we should rest, and remember our friend."

Frodo nodded with more conviction this time, but still made no move to leave.  " It's strange.  I have known Gandalf all my life, yet it turns out that I hardly knew him at all.  I knew he was a powerful wizard, but I never stopped to think what he might do when he wasn't in the Shire.  I mean, I knew that he would be involved in some adventure or other, but I never dreamed that he did…this."

"Fought a dangerous war against the forces of evil?"  The Ranger shrugged.  "  That was how he wanted it, Frodo.  He never wished for normal folk to know the terrors that surrounded them."  Sitting down fully, with his back against a tree, he continued.  " Gandalf had a fondness for most races, but I believe he held a special place for Hobbits.  He wanted to protect your innocence and way of life for as long as possible."

"Will you tell me about him?  About your adventures together?"

Aragorn seemed to consider for a moment before coming to a decision. " Very well."  He reached into his pocket and brought out a pipe, filling it with weed as he spoke.  "  I will tell you about the time Gandalf first saved my neck.  He did so on many occasions but the first seems a good place to start and it is a tale worth telling.  Bilbo always threatened to make a song of it, but Gandalf said he would turn him into a worm if he did."  The Man regarded the Hobbit with a hint of a smile on his tired features.  "Come, sit down."  

Frodo dropped down beside him, as Aragorn took a long draw on his pipe and began to tell his tale.  It turned out that Isildur's heir was a very able storyteller. Frodo sat transfixed as Aragorn described how, as a rather reckless young man of 25, he had been captured by Orcs in the East, and told of Gandalf's daring rescue.   Once they had reached safety Gandalf 's anger had been terrible to behold.  Aragorn's face broke into a smile as he recalled it for Frodo.  "I made a point of never provoking his ill temper again, at least not through stupidity."

Frodo smiled.  " I cannot imagine you doing anything stupid."

Aragorn rolled his eyes slightly. "I was not born with the knowledge and skills that I have now, Frodo.  Others taught me."

"What did Gandalf teach you?"

"The value of patience."  He said enigmatically  "but that is a tale for another time. The hour is late, my friend.  Will you try to get some rest now?"

Frodo nodded and stood up to go, but paused.  "I'm glad you are here to watch over us."

"If I were not, any one of the others would surely lay down their life to protect you, Frodo."  The Ranger said solemnly, getting to his feet.

"I know that, but I still feel easier knowing that you are by my side."

"And that is where I plan to stay, Frodo."  He said earnestly, bringing his hand to rest once more on the Hobbit's shoulder.  "Now, return to the others.  Sam will worry if he wakes and finds you gone."

Frodo smiled.  "What about you?  Will you not come back with me?"

"No, not yet.  First I will try to find Boromir.  He seemed unsettled after our audience with the Lady Galadriel and desired his own company.  But he has not yet returned."  His mouth quirked. " It would seem that Men, unlike Hobbits, do not have the good sense to seek out others when they are troubled."  With that he gave Frodo a gentle push and watched him as he made his way back to the others.  

Once Frodo was out of sight Aragorn's expression, so recently strong and composed, crumpled.  He rubbed his eyes with a weary hand.  "Oh, Gandalf."  He muttered to himself.  "I hope that I have the strength to lead them on without you. "  

He bent to retrieve Andúril and as he straightened he caught sight of Galadriel moving slowly down the spiral staircase that linked the forest floor to the city-palace.  He knew where she was going and it made his heart heavy that his friend would have to face the things that Lady of the Woods would show him tonight.  

Is he to have no peace at all?  He thought sadly.

"_Some things cannot wait, Aragorn, son of Arathorn_." A voice in his head replied. 

Knowing in his heart that she spoke the truth, Isildur's heir bowed his head and went in search of Boromir.

The End


End file.
